Floyd Landis

Spencer asked me yesterday if I think Landis is a doper. I’ve thought about this a lot and I really don’t know. My first thought was that he doesn’t fit the profile of a cheater (upbringing, worth ethic) but then how well can I know someone who I see on TV a few times a year? I absolutely believe the doping system is in need of reform. It seems to me that the lab was sloppy and several experts have stated that due to lack of standardization, the results would not have been flagged in another lab. Also, out of 180+ cases brought by the USADA against athletes, the number of athletes who have been cleared is exactly zero. Can all of them have been guilty? Is the science that perfect? I highly doubt it.

Still, he acted irresponsibly when he divulged to his manager that Greg Lemond was abused as a child. That breach of confidentiality definitely doesn’t fit the profile of a humble, wrongly accused cyclist. That event during the trial last May influenced my thinking (changed my mind?) in this whole thing.

I so want to believe that his performance in Stage 17 of the 2006 Tour was natural and unaided. As a cyclist, I’ve been robbed yet again of a source of inspiration.